Handel - Duetti Da Camera - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Fabio Bonizzoni returns with a further Glossa dedicated to the chamber vocal output of George Friederic Handel here, a second volume of duets (and trios), which features the vocal talents of Roberta Invernizzi, Silvia Frigato, Thomas Bauer and Krystian Adam. Whilst Handel wrote these small-scale vocal works across his career, this new selection focuses on that astonishingly fertile brief stay that the young Saxon made in Italy from 1707-09 (when he also produced many of the cantatas which Bonizzoni has recorded to great critical success for Glossa). These sensual duets and trios are imbued with Handel's discovery of Italian - especially the Arcadian - culture, which included him hearing and understanding the music of Corelli and Alessandro Scarlatti. How quickly and successfully Handel developed the chamber duet form is discussed in another of Stefano Russomanno's detailed explorations of Handel's music in the booklet essay. Much of the music for these duets and trios on this recording is scored for soprano and bass singers and Roberta Invernizzi, in particular, is afforded another opportunity to demonstrate her magical reaction to Handel's responsiveness to the Italian language. Not to be outdone in this respect are also the other vocal soloists and of course the experienced continuo team from La Risonanza Caterina Dell'Angello (cello), Evangelina Mascardi (theorbo) and Fabio Bonizzoni himself (harpsichord). Album Tracks 1. Quel Fior Che All'alba Ride, HWV200 2. Giù Nei Tartarei Regni, HWV187 3. Quando in Calma Ride Il Mare, HWV191 4. Amor Gioie Mi Porge, HWV180 5. Caro Autor Di Mia Doglia, HWV182 6. Che Vai Pensando, HWV184 7. Va, Speme Infida, HWV199 8. Tacete, Ohimè, Tacete, HWV196 9. Se Tu Non Lasci Amore, HWV201

This new recording includes four Handel organ concertos, among them the famous Concerto Op. 7, No. 3 in B flat major, the so-called InchHallelujah ConcertoInch (with a theme excerpt from InchMessiahInch). The works were played in Dresden's Kreuzkirche (Church of the Holy Cross) at the Horizontal Organ, making the situation comparable to Handel's new Horizontal Organ at the Royal Theatre, Covent Garden (1739). Album Tracks 1. Handel Overture of the Oratorio Deborah HWV 51 2. Organ Concerto Op.4 No.5 in F HWV 293 3. Organ Concerto Op.4 No.2 in B Flat HWV 290 4. Organ Concerto Op.7 No.5 in G minor HWV 310 5. Organ Concerto Op.7 No.3 in B Flat 'Hallelujah Concerto' HWV 308. - Holger Gehring/Barockorchester D - Holger Gehring/Barockorchester Der Kreuzkirche Dresden

Despite the rivalry between the operatic companies leaded by Haendel and Porpora in London (1734-1737), much has to be said about the real nature of the connection between the two composers. Both the musicians were considered outstandingly original for their aesthetic choices. Both admired each other's music. The few whirlwind years of their defiance in Great Britain produced memorable scores among them, Ariodante by Haendel and Polifemo by Porpora, performed with simultaneous runs in the city theaters. The fight between the two operatic company was an opportunity for the composers to meet and discover each other, to deal with the taste of the audience and to experiment new ideas, getting strength from the incredible skills of the members of the vocal casts (Farinelli, Senesino, Carestini, etc.). This tries to capture the soul of such a complicated intellectual relationship, presenting significant exemples of the composers' style and outlining the borders of the mutual esteem between two giants in the history of music. On her debut solo album, the young talented mezzosoprano Giuseppina Bridelli performs with effortless bravery the difficult pages written for some of the most famous singers of the 18th century between them, a version with original variations of Haendel Scherza infida.